WILMINGTON, N.C. — After a morning rain, the late-spring sun is drying out the playgrounds. Amid the low yellow-brick classroom buildings, children of various ages are noisily engaged in play as they anticipate the summer break.

Wilmington’s Cape Fear Academy, a 50-year-old independent school, serves about 650 students here in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade on a 27-acre campus, plus a nine-acre athletic annex across the street.